Tales from the Zoo

For months, the girls would not get into any TV or videos - we've tried Barney, Sesame Street, Baby Einstein, Veggie Tales, Thomas the Train - you name it, we've tried it. They still do not like to watch any of the above mentioned shows, but after showing one particular video, they will watch most (but not all) of this one Baby Einstein video on "Neighborhood Animals." I think it's because the books we've been reading have a lot of animals in them, but I'm glad that they enjoy it so that I can prepare dinner and still watch the girls.

Of course they love to stand right up by the TV and march around while they are watching. Caroline is so happy she can join Claire now and stand up on her own!

Marching, marching...

The other two children...Scarlett takes it upon herself to "babysit" Jack and has to make sure he's doing what he should. She uses her nose as a prod and pokes him on the back to keep him in line.

My family of four...they don't call it a zoo for nothing!

What a pretty girl! This face makes it all worthwhile!

Catching Up...

Caroline has been catching up really quickly to Claire's walking. Last week, she started walking around furniture on her own pretty steadily, then yesterday, she began pulling up to stand on her own. She's quite happy with her accomplishments!

Now if I can just see what's for dinner!

Wet 'N Wild Weekend Fun

This weekend, we had gorgeous weather, so we decided to pull out the baby pool for a little swimming fun! Claire was much more excited this time since she can walk, and helped Daddy set up the pool.
Scarlett and Claire testing the water...

Caroline scooted up to see if the pool was ready to go.

Brrr...this water is COLD!

Enjoying our first popsicles...that didn't last long, however, because the water was really chilly and I think the popsicles were too cold for their liking...

The chilly water didn't stop Scarlett!

After claiming the pool as her own (and deflating it), swim time was over!

Moving on to the sprinklers...this seemed much more doable!

Claire really enjoyed walking around in the sprinklers this time!

Caroline and Mommy enjoying some shade on the patio!

We love summertime!

Peek-a-Boo!

Claire loves making her way around the house now; she still crawls quite a bit, but every now and then, I'll turn around and see her walking my direction. I think the more she feels comfortable with walking, the more she'll do it, until one day, she'll be running around! She loves finding an item on the floor and then picking it up.

Look what I found!

Caroline, not to be outdone, always comes scooting in as fast as she can! She tries to catch up with Claire, and since Claire still takes her time while walking, Caroline can pretty much keep up with her.

Here I come!

Instead of turning around and looking for Caroline, Claire opts for a different approach:

Peek-a-Boo! The girls love playing this game for as long as they can until one of them starts swatting at the other, and then the fun quickly ends!

Mother's Day reflections

Being a mother (of twins) is challenging, but any time I feel like complaining or I begin to feel overwhelmed, I just think back to all the years I spent as a single and all I wanted was a family. So, that quickly makes me put things into perspective, and I just can't really seem to form the words to complain anymore.

Yesterday in church, the girls made a little craft for me and Claire is examining hers to make sure it's just right to give to Mommy.

Caroline proudly holds up her "footprint" and poem that she made for Mommy. How did she know I loved poems so much?

Later that afternoon, Claire settled on Mommy's lap for storytime. Apparently Scarlett and Jack love storytime, too!

Being a mother requires grace, sacrifice, and unconditional love, and I'm thankful for wonderful friends and mother figures who have shown me those qualities and examples for me to emulate with my own girls as they grow and mature. I'm thankful for Mother's Day to remind me of the type of mother I would like to be, and I'm most grateful for my girls -for without them, I would not even have the opportunity to be a mother!

One Week Later...

This last week, we've been spending a lot more time outside so that Scarlett can exercise and run around, so Caroline made herself right at home in the dirt. We've never been to a sandbox before, but I'm thinking she'll probably love it based on how she's covered herself with dirt. I'm glad my girls aren't afraid to get a little dirt on their hands, but I wasn't quite picturing dirt all over their bodies!
Scarlett is settling in nicely - we have training exercises we do twice a day, and we have started taking her on walks with us. We begin our group obedience classes tomorrow morning, so that should be fun (for her or for us???).

She's tuckered out from all the activities too!

Claire continues to try her hand at walking...she still prefers crawling because she's faster and it's easier for her, but she's pretty good about trying to walk as much as she can.

Jack and Caroline prefer to watch the action from the sidelines. It's been a crazy week, but we're slowly getting more used to the "new" routine and way of life with a younger, more active dog. She's come a long way in just a week!

What a Week!

Between having Scarlett and going through some intense training with her, to managing the twins' schedule, to helping Claire make her way around the house, there's been enough going on this week to last me a good few months at least! I managed to capture Claire in action today - she's not walking all the time yet, but she does a little more each day.

Walkin' Around...

On Friday afternoon, Claire finally let go and took several steps on her own. I kept trying to get her to do it again all weekend to show Paul, but finally today, she decided to take a little tour around the kitchen. With beads in hand, she started at the kitchen table, and walked to the fridge. It always helps to have a little prop!

Then she decided to walk across the kitchen to the dishwasher.

Here she comes!

Don't worry, sis, I've got this under control! I'll show you how it's done.

Look at me! I'm officially walking now and there's no going back!

New Routines and Accomplishments

Now that we've had Scarlett a few days, she is slowly settling in to life in her new home, and she just can't get enough of her two admirers. The girls follow her around everywhere and when I tell them to go find Scarlett, they immediately go to her kennel and pet her. This morning, I found Claire standing up trying to stuff Caroline's duck into the kennel for Scarlett.

Claire loves to find Scarlett and tell her, "Good morning!"

Our other dog, Jack, seems unimpressed with Scarlett and barely notices her, but that's pretty typical of how he interacts with other dogs. She will try to engage him to play with her, but he'll have none of it. He's just an old man who can't be bothered with a young teenager!

In other news...this weekend, Claire decided to finally let go and took a good nine or ten steps on her own! Then last night, she walked from the coffee table to Scarlett's cage on her own. As Claire is getting closer and closer to taking off on her own, Caroline is quickly catching up and is now able to walk around furniture fairly well on her own. Although she has been a little more behind Claire physically, she does progress more quickly than Claire does, so she'll catch her soon enough!